TikToker Shares How She Went From Making $28k A Year To $158k In Four Years

Kasia Mikolajczak
woman typing on a laptop
Unsplash | Christin Hume

When you're young, you dream of landing a great job that pays well. Sadly, life doesn't always turn out that way. Instead, many young people get trapped in low-paying jobs that they don't particularly like.

That's what happened to this one TikToker. But instead of just staying in the same position, this woman did something different. And in the end, she was able to go up in pay quite quickly. Her story is super fascinating so let's find out more. Shall we?

Charlotte Chaze is a data analyst who wants to help people break into tech.

woman in a TikTok video talking about working in tech
TikTok | TikTok | @charlottechaze

She, too, started working in a low-paying job, making only $28K per year. Back then, she was a biomedical researcher who worked in a basement lab with no windows. Yikes!

She was working long hours and the job wasn't even rewarding.

woman looking perpexed
Giphy | Harlem

So she decided to make a change. But she did something a little different during her job search. She applied to jobs she wasn't even qualified for and ended up landing one of those as a data analytics associate at a consulting company.

This job paid $70K.

people sitting at a desk discussing things
Unsplash | Dylan Gillis

Wow! That's pretty damn good, eh? But she didn't stop there. Charlotte set her sights even higher. She still worked long hours and didn't like it very much. So she did something that she now suggests everyone should do.

Charlotte decided to learn an in-demand skill from the comfort of her home.

computer screen with programming
Unsplash | Florian Olivo

Before she applied for another job, she taught herself SQL (Structured Query Language, a programming language used in database management). And that's exactly how she landed her next gig as a data analyst at Comcast. This job came paid $90K. Nice!

And get this, the course she took was only a few weeks.

woman saying "Wait. What?"
Giphy | Ryn Dean

She studied SQL using a website called Khan Academy. During the job interview, Charlotte talked about the SQL projects she had done, and it must've impressed the hiring managers because they offered her the job.

Charlotte had successfully broken into tech.

About a year and a half later, Charlotte got promoted to a manager and was now making $104K. But that didn't stop her. She kept updating her LinkedIn profile and got eventually contacted by a recruiter from AT&T. After going through the interview process, she landed a job that paid $158K.

Oh my goodness!

TikTok comments
TikTok | TikTok | @charlottechaze

Her story was so inspiring to others that people started praising her on TikTok. The tips she has shared with her audience have been invaluable. Her biggest advice is to apply to jobs you're not qualified for but know you can handle and update your skills on your own.

Charlotte put herself out there and it paid off in the end.

woman looking perplexed
Giphy | T. Kyle

She was surprised to find out that statistics say women typically only apply for jobs when they're 100% qualified, and men apply when they're 60% qualified. She thinks that should definitely change. And she is a living example of somebody who took matters into their own hands.

What do you think of that?

Woman on TikTok discussing women in tech jobs
TikTok | TikTok | @charlottechaze

Tell me, in your experience, did you apply to jobs you weren't technically qualified for but knew you could do the actual work? I have done that before, and it worked alright for me. So I agree with Charlotte on this.

Put yourself out there, update your skills, and you never know what could happen. You can land the job of your dreams. And you might not even need a special degree, either.